Former Team Leaders to be Inducted into Sports Hall of Fame

Date:October 3, 2013

Former women’s soccer standout Dana Edwards Manatos and former baseball player Robert Pregnolato have been named to the Palm Beach Atlantic University Sports Hall of Fame class of 2013 and will be inducted during the University’s Homecoming weekend.

Dana Edwards Manatos

Robert Pregnolato

The annual Sports Hall of Fame ceremony is set to take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, in the Greene Complex for Sports and Recreation. The ceremony is open to the public and also will be viewable online through a live video stream provided by the Sailfish Sports Network.

The two inductees will be the 18th and 19th members of the PBA Sports Hall of Fame, with Manatos joining former teammate Angela Magnotta as women’s soccer inductees. Pregnolato will be enshrined alongside former baseball inductees Carlos Cajigas and Nick Priolo.

Manatos was a member of the Sailfish women’s soccer team from 1999 to 2002 while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a graduate of Hampton High School, Manatos was a Florida Sun All-Conference forward for the Sailfish who never missed a game in her four-year career.

Her best season came as a sophomore during the 2000 season when she helped lead her team to the NAIA National Championship Tournament thanks to a record-breaking season of 21 assists to go along with 17 goals for the ’Fish, who finished a remarkable 20-4 on the season.

Manatos’ playing career included program records for total assists (48) while finishing fifth in program history for career goals (35) and total points (118 points).

Today Manatos serves as vice president of operations for Edward Marc Chocolatier based in Pittsburgh. She is acknowledged for transforming the 99-year old company from regional prominence into a nationally recognized brand.

As the fourth generation of the family to lead the company, she helped to relaunch the business and expand it into a national affordable luxury brand in 2007. Edward Marc Chocolatier has three retail locations as well as its signature division, The Milk Shake Factory, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that specializes in 55 flavors of milkshakes. Manatos created The Milk Shake Factory during her time at Palm Beach Atlantic while working on a class project.

Prior to working at Edward Marc, Manatos began her career with U.S. President George W. Bush at The White House in 2003. As senior trip coordinator in the Office of Presidential Advance, Manatos was responsible for coordinating and organizing all logistics for Presidential travel both domestically and internationally. In 2005, she was promoted to associate director of public liaison. Her primary responsibility was to highlight the President’s message and participate in ongoing outreach to various constituent groups to create coalitions and gather issue-based support.

She now resides in Bethesda, Md., with her husband Tom and their two children, Andrew, 2, and Alexis, 8 months.

A native of Montreal, Canada, Pregnolato suited up for the Sailfish from 1996 to 1999 while pursuing a degree in finance. Pregnolato saw his name fill the PBA baseball record book as a four-year starting outfielder under Head Coach Kyle Forbes.

Known as a five-tool player on the diamond, Pregnolato would lead the nation (NAIA) with 72 stolen bases as a senior while eventually compiling PBA career records in hits (236), runs scored (218), doubles (54) and stolen bases (129).

Following his outstanding senior season where he was named to the Florida Sun All-Conference team, Pregnolato was drafted in the 30th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent three seasons playing professional baseball in the Brewers organization before sustaining a career-ending injury.

Much like his success in his sport, Pregnolato also has found a promising career after baseball.

Now a retail market manager for TD Bank, Pregnolato oversees the Treasure Coast and Heartland regions in Florida and has more than 10 years of financial service experience in retail banking, small business banking, mortgage lending and retail management.

Pregnolato currently sits on the board of VISTE (Volunteers in Service to the Elderly) and the US GenNext group, leading the volunteerism team for Florida. He also volunteers his time with Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Special Olympics and the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League.

After living in other parts of the state during his career, he recently has returned to make his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with his wife Tara, whom he met at PBA.

The induction ceremony is one of the highlights of Homecoming weekend. For information, visit www.pba.edu/homecoming. Visit www.pbasailfish.com for the latest news and information on Palm Beach Atlantic University Athletics.